Azro fowler



(No Model.)

A. FOWLER. MECHANICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

1% 2 Patented Jan. 3,1882.

ATTORNEYS.

N. PETERS Phato'Lkhogrzplw UNiran STATES PATENT OFFICE.

AZRO FOWLER, OF NEW YORK, Y., ASSIGXOR TO MOSES HARRIS, OF

' SAME PLACE.

MECHANICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 251,861, dated January 3, 1882.

Application filed May 13, 1881. (No mane.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Azao FOWLER, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented an Improved Musical Instrument, of which. the following is a specification.

This invention relates to wind musical instruments that are operated ma iually by keys, or are played or controlledloy means of one or more sheets or strips of paper or other suit-- able material perforated to represent the different notes or sounds it is desired to produce, and caused -to automatically pass over airducts, which, according as they are opened by the perforations in the paper, cause the reeds or other sounding devices to be played as required; and the invention has special reference to the pneumatic action of the instrument. g

The invention consists, in its application to a reed-organ, in placing the pneumatic keys in the windchest in which the reed-valves are located, so that the said valves may be acted upon by the pneumatic keysinde 'iendently of the manual-keys or tracker pins, and so that the instrument may be played either manually or mechanically independently of the other method. v

Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation of a reed-organ with my improvements applied. Fig.2 is a sectional elevation on line a: 00, Fig. 1.

Similar letters of reference indicate correspondin g parts.

In the drawings, A represents the windchest of an ordinary reed-organ, com municating with exhaust-bellows A through porta.

B B represent a series of pneumatic keys, provided with exhaust-ports a, secured within the wind-chest A beneath the air tubes or ducts D D, and connected with the reed-valves O by suitable connections, E, said valves 0 being held closed by springs I). The air-duets D D have their upper ends close together, so that a narrow music sheet or strip may be used, and small valves to control the passage of air through them, and are made to spread or diverge at their lower ends, so asto accommodate themselves to or meet the valves of an ordinary organ, as shown in Fig. 2. The upper ends of these air ducts or tubes D are supported by being secured to a brace, D,

brace D are lugs c, to which are pivoted the vertically-moving valves F, that close the outer .ends of the air ducts or tubes D. Said valves.

F are preferably set at an inclination of thirty degrees, or thereabout, and are so pivoted that in their normal positions they close the air ducts or tubes D by their gravity. An angle-cap, G, also supported between the ends of the instrument-case, covers the tops of the tubes or air ducts D,,and incloses as Well the valves F, with the exception of their upper ends, which are seen in the open channel d between the brace D and the cap G.

On a bar, H, also extended between the ends of the instrument, are pivoted a series of levers, H, corresponding in number and position with the valves F. Said levers H are provided on their under edges with noses j, which are held in contact with the valves F, or with the perforated music sheet or strip I that passes over them, by springs g, the said strip or sheet I being designed to be drawn over the air-ducts D by the revolutions of the drum I in the usual manner. When the instrument is mechanically operated the nosesfof thelevers H fall through the perforations in the music-strip I as the latter is moved along upon the valves F, thereby raising them and allowing air to be drawn through the air-ducts D by the action of the exhaust-bellowsA, whereby the pneumatic keys B are expanded, and thereby caused to draw open the reed-valves 0, when, the stops K being open, air is drawn by the action ofthe exhaust-bellows A, through the reed-openings it, over the reeds K, causing the latter to sound. While the instrument is thus mechanically operated there is no interference with the movement of the manualkeys L, their trackerpins M being held from contact with the reed-valves O by springs m, that pass through said pins M, and thereby support the weights of the said keys L, and it will be seen that the instrument can, independently of the music-sheet I and its auxiliaries,be played by manipulation of the keys L in the usual manner of organs, in which case the tracker-pins M open the valves O, which. are in turn closed by their springs b.

I am aware that it is not new to construct musical instruments that are operated both mechanically and manually. Hence I do not broadly claim such arrangement; but,

Having thus described myinventioml claim as newand desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. In a wind. musical instrument; adapted to be operated mechanically and manually, and containing sound-producing devices, such as reeds, the tracker-pins of the manual mechanism, provided with means for holding them in their normal position and holding them from contactwith the reed-valves while said valves are being depressed or operated upon by the music-sheet or mechanically-operating mechanism, substantially as herein shown and described.

2. In a wind musical instrument"provided with eXhaust-bellows,tl1e combination,with the pneumatic keys B, of the air-ducts D, valves F, spring actuated levers H, and perforated music-sheet I, all arranged to operate substantially as herein shown and described, whereby the valves F are acted upon by the levers through perforations in the music-sheet to permit air to pass through the air-ducts to the pneumatic keys, as set forth.

3. In a wind musical instrument adapted to be operated mechanically and manually, and containing sound-producing devices, such as reeds, and provided with exhaust-bellows, the combination, with the reed-valves G, the manual keys L, and spring-supported tracker-pins M for manually operating the valves of the pneumatic keys 13, arranged within the windchest, air-ducts D, valves F, levers H, and perforated music-sheet I, mechanically operating thevalves, substantially as herein shown and described.

AZRO FOWLER. 

